We're Not So Different

(00:00:00) Cold Open - Civ 7 and more ghosts

(00:10:07) Patron questions - Weird Italian perverts and Papal naming conventions

(00:24:05) Intro

(00:26:05) Viking Textile Industries

(00:31:57) Central Europe had 16 catastrophic floods in 2 years

(00:40:29) Bayeux Tapestry returns to England

(00:47:07) Alchemy is totally vindicated

(01:04:39) Death by Trebuchet

folks, there's recently been a spate of Medieval news that is interesting enough to include in podcast form and so we decide to talk about it. admittedly, some of it is not the most glamorous but it all greatly informs our understanding of the Medieval world, also death by trebuchet. we cover 5 topics: Viking textile industry, 2 years of catastrophic flooding in Central Europe, England bending the knee to get the Bayeux Tapestry back, the total vindication of alchemy, and, well, death by trebuchet!
Viking textile industry: https://archaeologymag.com/2026/06/viking-textile-production-center-near-aarhus/
Catastrophic European flooding 1341-43: https://www.science.org/content/article/medieval-europe-was-battered-16-catastrophic-floods-just-2-years
Bayeux Tapestry in England: https://www.artforum.com/news/british-culture-official-proposed-for-bayeux-tapestry-loan-1234756775/
Alchemy: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/gold-big-bang-theory-large-hadron-collider-b3033578.html
Trebuchet guy https://www.science.org/content/article/shattered-skeleton-scottish-castle-first-confirmed-death-trebuchet
cover image is a skeleton preserved with a stone crushing its head, revealed during the excavation of Pompei. yes, I said it was a meme but it's actually real

folks, some of our patrons requested that we do tier list rankings of the popes and we are so happy to oblige, you have no idea. however, we can't do all 267 at once or even in a row but we can start with some smaller chunks and so we decided to rank the seven popes of the Avignon Papacy and the two antipopes in Avignon during the Western Schism. see where we rank them all from S down to F and let us know if you agree. we've Black Death popes and lawyer antipopes and nearly reuniting the Catholic and Orthodox churches popes, it's a lot of fun.

folks, today we tackle longtime frenemy of the podcast: Peter Abelard. he's a very interesting historical figure for his positively cutting edge ideas in numerous fields of study and is singled out and oppressed by the Church and clergy but he's also most famous for an extremely problematic relationship with his lifelong love, Heloise, a probably underage girl and definitely his student and underling. it's real land of contrasts hours here, folks.

cover image is a medieval manuscript drawing of Abelard and Heloise from the cover of the Penguin classics edition of The Letters of Abelard and Heloise

folks, we're back with our monthly mailbag episode wherein we answer questions from our patrons. this time, we talk about what happens if you are shipwrecked in the Middle Ages, depictions of Jesus, Medieval crocs–the shoes, not the giant creatures, though they were around–slaves at the end of empire, noble views on chivalry, getting cut off at the Medieval pub, the worst name I’ve ever heard for a child, and more.

cover image is from patron Quixotic from the Met Cloisters

folks, it's time to review Christopher Nolan's film adaptation of The Odyssey, which just came out a couple of weeks back. we talk about the good and bad choices Nolan made in his adaptation, his handling of the source material, the stellar production values, Zeus's Law, our Age of Bronze collapsing, the spectacle, Rob Pattinson's masterclass, forgetting how to read, and so much more. enjoy!